AUGUST 2, 2002

McGuinness confirms Minardi talks

Brendan McGuinness has confirmed that he is part of a consortium led by Saudi Prince Al-Waleed are in talks to buy Minardi. In Formula 1 circles this is no surprise as McGuinness has been knocking around the F1 scene for some time, although his efforts have yet to produce any solid results. He was linked to a takeover of Prost a year ago but it never came to anything.

Both sides say that if there is a purchase Paul Stoddart would stand down although the rest of the team would remain much as it is now.

The big issue now is whether or not Stoddart and McGuinness can agree on a price and whether or not the consortium can come up with the money. On the face of it Prince Al-Waleed is not short of cash but whether he is going to put it into a Formula 1 team is another question.

It should also be noted that Minardi is talking to another group of investors, who attended the recent German GP.